We're All Wrong!

I'm taking a step away from my new American Hymnal posts for a day because something happened last week that put me on tilt, then this weekend I missed out on a christian pissing match.  That kind of stuff just gets under my skin.  Also, because poor Pastor John thinks he's done something wrong.  He has, but we'll get to that.

So, what am I talking about?  Rob Bell.  If you don't know who Rob Bell is (I may or may not have mentioned him before), he's like a Hispter Pastor from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has done a lot of videos (Nooma) books, speaking tours, and gets real deep into the teachings, and he has a new book coming out later this year, and it's already causing issues.

Fans flock to his Facebook page, his NOOMA videos have been viewed by millions, and his Sunday sermons are attended by 10,000 parishioners—with a downloadable podcast reaching 50,000 more. An electrifying, unconventional pastor whom Time magazine calls “a singular rock star in the church world,” Rob Bell is the most vibrant, central religious leader of the millennial generation. Now, in Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering. With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly optimistic—eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins.

That's from his publisher's website.  There's also a video which wouldn't play for me, at work, but I'm not interested in it, because it's a video, not the actual book.  Anywho, what we have here is Bell doing what Bell does best: talking to non-christians and christians in the same tone.  This makes people nervous, for some odd reason, but in all reality, it's what we should be doing.

I haven't read this book, so all I can do is guess what's going on by the context of what's been said.

From the book description Bell is going to be taking a non-Dante's look into Hell.  We all perceive hell differently, but how I see hell is the standard fire, brimstone, pain, anguish, that we've all been taught to fear.  I was at a church a few weeks ago where this guy was praying with the children and he actually said "God, thank you for being in my life so I won't go to hell."  We all know what hell is, it's bad.

Bell is probably going to be looking at it in a deeper light, probably still pointing out it's Bell, but in a way only Bell can do without looking like he's crazy.

Maybe.

There seems to be another camp of people already lining up to throw stones at bell for this book.  John Piper, who I seriously have no clue who he is. Seriously, the name sound familiar but I thought he was the lead singer of Blue's Travelers.  Anyway, Piper tweeted as all good Christian pastors do, about the book.  In a very offhand and smug way:

Farewell Rob Bell.

He also posted a link to his blog, ripping into Bell for being a Universalist, which is someone who believes everyone is going to heaven.  My mother-in-law thinks that.  Maybe I can get her to read this book, I know she'd love 'Drops Like Stars' and then maybe, just maybe, Velvet Elvis.

I'm not a participating tithing member of the Church of Bell, but I have seen him speak live during his 'Drops Like Stars' tour, and I have seen a lot of his Nooma videos (Shells and Breath being two personal favorites), and I understand the fascination of his stuff, because he doesn't make it boring or fire/brimestoney but I don't get why people put him on this level that everything he has to say is right OR wrong, there is no gray?

Why aren't people this pissed off when Pat Robertson goes all looney on us or when another Christian musician puts out a crappy record?  "There goes Pat, saying stuff that makes him look like an asshat, being all goofy like Pat does, but he gets to keep his card."  Bell isn't perfect, and if ONE of his views is off kilter, doesn't mean we need to throw stones and force him to resign from his position of changing lives for the better!

We accept the painfully real sorrows of our brothers and sisters who have done wrong, but since none of us have read the book in a non-partial light, we are doing nothing to shed any real light on the subject.

So, here we have this Piper guy shooting down Bell's book before he has even read it.  He has made a decision on the book before even reading it, himself.  Throw your stones Piper, you're alright in my book.

Actually, no you're not.  I don't know who you are and after this, I'm going to do my best to keep my distance.  Consider your invitation to my book release party revoked.

I have nothing to say about Piper's beliefs, or Bells, or the Westborrow Baptist Church, because I have no right to claim I am more right than the next person.  Why?

Because I am wrong.  My blog plainly states that I know nothing.

No mater how hard we try to understand God's desire for us, we'll always miss the mark on His word.  No matter how much we put into understanding Hebrew, or Greek, we're still missing the all important issue of what God wants from us.  Bell's book isn't as important as Piper's books are, because none are as important as the book God has given His people.

We can study as much as we want, but without God's holy inspiration everything we write, say and do is wrong.  None of us know what God truly wants from any of us, except to be humble servants.  Not just servants to him, but to everyone, and sometimes we get to a point where we're all just wrong.

I have recently taken a sabbatical from the service I have been apart of since its inception.  Why?  I felt it was going in the wrong direction and those who were in power to fix our direction didn't hear me.  A part of that is because I couldn't explain what was wrong, and the other part is because of my past outbursts and immature actions, on that I was judged and unheard.  I don't blame anyone for that.  I did it to myself, and I expected nothing less than to be shrugged off.  I was wrong before, and I may be wrong now, but this time I'm not thinking with my feelings, I'm thinking with God's feelings.  I'm also wrong for going away, but I felt that if I didn't, that I'd only become jaded and nasty, and no one wants a jaded nasty Christian (Piper, I'm talking to you).

I'm still wrong, though.

God wants His Church to be whole, not to be arguing over on another, over dogmatic principles, and when we stick our own personal beliefs into our prayers, our services, it's no longer a prayer for God, to God, but for ourselves, to ourselves.  I can pray to myself all day and get no where, but the moment I redirect, refocus, I take myself out of it, and put God right back in, God moves things.

Is Rob Bell wrong for saying hell is empty?  Yes. Is John Piper wrong for call Bell a false prophet? Yes.  Am I wrong for calling them both out? Yes. Is it wrong to be scared of clowns? I don't think so, mainly because I'm borderline on the topic, even after Stephen King's IT, but even being borderline is wrong.

Grace and Peace,
Jesse